This position is pending donor approval
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
About Mercy Corps in the DRC
Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of approximately 400 people working in Eastern DRC. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps DRC’s humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo with multi-purpose cash assistance and emergency WASH support to displaced and host populations. Mercy Corps is also currently responding the unfolding Ebola epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces. The current annual budget includes resources from DFID, USAID, ECHO, UN-donors, Government of Netherlands, OFDA, FFP, SDC and others.
Program Summary
In 2008, Mercy Corps and USAID launched a project to rehabilitate and extend the municipal water system of Goma and it was extended through other various donors. In 2013, Mercy Corps signed a new $60M (USD) grant agreement with DFID-DRC to replicate and scale-up the Goma water project in two cities in Eastern Congo. The program involves designing, rehabilitating, extending and constructing city water and sanitation infrastructure as well as working to reform management structures to ensure that the systems are managed profitably and sustainably. In 2019, Mercy Corps is pursuing expanded peri-urban water and sanitation programming with an anticipated USAID funded project valued at up to $50M.
General Position Summary
The Chief of Party (COP) provides overall leadership, technical oversight, management and strategic vision for this multi-million dollar USAID-funded program, while managing staff, partners and resources to ensure that the program meets its targets and deliverables on-time, on scope, and within budget. The COP will supervise key program staff and ensure high program quality. The COP will be responsible for ensuring strict adherence to internal Mercy Corps policies and procedures as well as donor rules and regulations. The COP will also have representation duties to donors, relevant government entities, public and private sector actors in the water and sanitation sector, partners, other implementers and external stakeholders.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & VISION
- Recognize and act on opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
- Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives.
- Oversee the development of annual, integrated strategic work-plans for the program
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
- Oversee program start-up and ongoing program management and administration of teams across various field locations, ensuring mechanisms for effective adaptive management are in place and utilized regularly.
- Lead the development of detailed implementation plans, flowing from annual strategic work-plans, and ensure the delivery of the same.
- Structure his/her team to ensure that all program aspects are implemented to the highest standard (adhering to industry norms/regulations).
- Ensure program objectives and deadlines are tracked and met.
- Ensure grant agreements are monitored and comply with Mercy Corps policies and procedures and donor/government/external rules and regulations.
- Oversee the performance of consortium partners and sub-grantees.
- Oversee all aspects of design, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and ensure that all program aspects are documented and archived according to internal/donor requirements.
- Ensure the program is aligned with Mercy Corps’ principles, values and strategic plan.
- Ensure all program management minimum standards are met (including risk management, issues management and change management)
TEAM MANAGEMENT
- Recruit a program team and ensure that program staff receive necessary inductions / training (including program management certification where required).
- Create and sustain a work environment conducive to professional growth and of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
- Set a team culture valuing learning and adaptive management in support of an ongoing resilience approach in programming
- Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews with direct supervisees, and ensuring that supervisory staff do the same.
- Implement, and ensure all staff members are effectively using, the performance planning and management system, establishing performance expectations and regularly providing constructive feedback.
- Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
- Supervise and manage all program staff to ensure day-to-day activities are implemented in a coordinated fashion according to schedule, budget and quality.
- Manage and help with professional development and ongoing training of staff to ensure they are of the quality and technical capacity necessary to ensure the successful implementation of activities.
- Supervise and manage all program partnerships to ensure sound coordination in the context of an overall program strategic and resilience-building framework.
ACCOUNTABILITY/REPORTING
- Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
- Ensure all internal control procedures are adhered to and that necessary measures are put in place to ensure high standards of accountability and compliance.
- Ensure all internal/ donor /external reports are produced as required.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
- Coordinate with program, finance and administration staff to ensure operational systems are in place to support field activities (including logistics, procurement, security, administration and human resources).
- Work closely with country-level security focal points to develop and maintain systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its work.
- Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities.